Whoever said space was cold, never found love from the stars ... Some people never learn. This is the tune playing once again in Alex Beaumont’s head when he sees a vision in white attracting odd glances in the quiet little seaside resort of Padstow. He came to get away from it all, to bury himself in work, to forget every man he ever falls for eventually needs to get away ... from him. Adrift in the universe, Mani searches for a place to call home. The planet he finds is cold and inhospitable, not at all what he was expecting. He feels lost and alone, until a stranger’s smile warms him. And with that smile comes another kind of heat, one he’s never before experienced. Love is not what Alex ever imagined it to be. They say space is infinite, but the distance between what Alex wants and what he has experienced romantically seems to be growing ... until now. Like a shooting star, he’s about to fall long and hard. Will he crash and burn, or find the love he’s always dreamed of when looking at the night sky?

Space, Man

“What are your plans?” Alex asked, as they entered the cottage.


“Plans?” Mani tilted his head in question.


“What do you want to do? How long do you hope to stay?”


“I thought, a year, maybe longer. It depends. I would like to see the seasons change. I would like to see the beach in summer.”


Alex paced, fiddled with his car-keys, while he wished the idea of Mani staying was as great as it could be. When he’d paced enough, Alex flung his keys down on the table, and then leaned on the back of a chair. He needed the support. “Look, the problem is, this isn’t my house.”


Alex had already explained the cottage belonged to his parents and they were currently away for three months, spending the winter in warmer climes. “Well, my folks will be home in a month, and if you’re going to stay for a year, you’ll have to work out where you want to go. You’ll need money, so you’ll need a job.”


Chapter 15